Patreon is to close two of its European offices and layoff 17% of its workforce following a change in the tech industry over the past nine months.
CEO Jack Conte made the announcement in a blog post explaining what staff had been told and saying the cuts will come from four Patreon divisions, amounting to 80 staff.
He explained that the company needs to change the way that it operates. While continuing to increase investments in its product, engineering, and design teams, the San Francisco based company will restructure its marketing with a smaller, consolidated team, focused on updating the brand, developing creator resources, and launching new products.
Announcing the closure of its Dublin and Berlin offices, Conte said that the engineering employees had the option to relocate to the US.
Conte also set out details of severance pay those leaving will receive and additional help, including three months mental health benefits, financial counselling and outplacement services to provide teammates with curated job matching, resume writing, and cover letter writing services, for as long as it takes to find their next job.
He ended by saying: “To our teammates who will remain at Patreon: the second Renaissance has already begun, and we have a massive opportunity ahead of us to change the course of history for creative people, to give them leverage and control, to give them direct relationships with their communities, and to help them build beyond their dreams.
“Our focus is sharpened, but our mission is unchanged: we will help build a world in which creative people are cherished, respected, and powerful, with tools and infrastructure to help them realize the potential of their imagination.”
The company launched in 2013 and has over 250,000 creators who use the platform across the globe.
